The present invention relates to a sheet-like composite element for construction purposes.
Various forms of such composite elements are known. They have metal or plastic cover layers that are interconnected by a core layer of hard foam in such a way that, while having a light weight, the sandwich effect results in an increased load bearing capacity which, due to the composite effect, is greater than the sum of the individual load carrying capacities of the cover layers and of the core layer.
The drawback of the heretofore known sandwich composite elements is that the material of the cover layers must essentially be selected from the point of view of the respective load carrying capacity that the composite element is to bear, so that the material of the cover layers can normally not be selected in conformity with the application of the composite element. For this reason, it is generally necessary to provide the heretofore known sheet-like composite elements with a covering or additional cover layers if the composite elements are to be used, for example, for the walls of the room, or as external elements that are exposed to weather.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet-like composite element of the aforementioned general type that has a given load bearing capacity independent of the material and of the design of the cover layers, so that the cover layers can be selected in conformity with the respective application of the composite element without regard to support characteristics.